Fraternization
by SaltyJak
Summary: Just various one-shots starting with Timmy needing a job and following what happens before, during, and after 'Party's Over', 'A Day Apart', and 'Sammy'. Will eventually bleed over into dealing with OCs. Rating is likely to vary wildly.
1. Chapter 1

"Alright, I need a job." Timmy talked to mostly himself, though he knew Wanda would soon voice her opinion on the matter.

As if on cue, she poofed out of her fishbowl, along with Cosmo. "What's this about a job?"

"The allowance I get from my parents isn't enough anymore, I need a job."

"Oh Timmy! I'm so proud of you, you're finally taking some of what I told you to heart. Though I have to ask, why do you suddenly want a job? You're parents are more than generous, what could you possibly be spending all your money on?"

"Trixie."

"Oh." Wanda, along with most of Dimmsdale, knew of Timmy's crush on resident popular princess, Trixie Tang. She wished he realized that after so many years of chasing after her that things wouldn't ever work out between them. He was nice, normal, middle class. She was haughty, rich, and possibly insane, or at least manipulative. "Well, either way, having a job will certainly teach you about responsibility."

"And put money in my pocket."

"That too. Any idea where to start?"

"Probably the newspaper."

"Oh? Not gonna wish for it?"

"No. Nearly everytime I wish for something, it ends up backfiring in some way. If I wish for a job, you guys will probably just give me something I hate, like sewer maintenance, or slaughterhouse worker, or mascot for the baseball team, I want something I'll like, or at least not hate."

"Y'know Timmy, not everyone does the job they like, part of life is having to do things you don't necessarily want to..."

"Then I guess it's a good thing I'm not being pressured into getting a job, that way I have all the time in the world to find something I like, huh?"

"Long as you remember, the chances of you finding something you like are pretty slim."

"Eh, perseverance is key."

"That's a good outlook Timmy."

"Wish me luck!" Timmy left his room and headed down the stairs to the living room.

He stopped as he passed the couch. On it lay the sleeping form of his nemesis-turned-friend Vicky. Well, perhaps friend was too strong a word, at least for her. He counted her as a friend now, though not quite in the same light as Tootie and the others. Vicky was nicer to him, definitely, but she still teased him regularly, it just wasn't as spiteful as it used to be. She likely wouldn't agree with the 'friend' title, he was more of an acquaintance to her.

She had apparently fallen asleep with the TV on, her arm was draped over her eyes as she breathed steadily and quietly. Her lips were parted very slightly.

At times like these, when she was peaceful and unaware, Timmy occasionally found himself admiring her. In the seven years since they had first met, age had been mercifully kind to Vicky, her hair had become fuller and somehow redder, her cream-colored skin was light and free of blemishes, save for a dusting of freckles on her cheeks, her eyes seemed so much more vibrant than before, though he rarely saw those for long, fearing she would catch him staring, but when he did see them, if only for a moment, he committed them to memory, no one had eyes like her, not even Trixie.

"_Jeez, listen to me wax poetic about her..."_ he wasn't sure what he felt for the girl he once knew as a red-headed witch. At times, she felt like an older sister to him, at others... well, it didn't matter what he felt. He knew the age difference, he knew she wouldn't want him, even if there _wasn't_ an age difference, so whatever it was that he felt towards her, it was locked away beneath his feelings for Trixie, at least those feelings made sense to him.

He leaned down towards her, his face a foot away. He began to unconsciously reach out toward her face, he didn't even realize his hand was moving toward her until he had almost touched her, just as his fingertips hit, he pulled away like he was burned and shook his head to clear it. "I need help..." he grabbed for the remote instead and shut off the TV, only to turn around and see that Vicky was looking at him with sleepy eyes.

"Hey..." her voice was addled with sleep and her words slurred slightly. "I was watching that..."

"You were sleeping." he grinned at her.

"Perhaps, but the noise was keeping me asleep and content, which now, I am not."

"Sorry. Here." he returned the remote to her and made for the kitchen. Sitting down at the table and grabbing the newspaper, he briefly wondered why he didn't use his computer to look for a job, rather than the paper.

Amazingly enough, he didn't find anyone who was willing to hire a fifteen year old with no experience, not at the Dimmsdale Zoo, not at the Dimmsdale Space Center, not even at Wall 2 Wall Mart. "Ugh... how can I get experience if no one will hire me?! I can't get a job because I have no experience, I can't get experience because I can't get a job! It's a vicious circle!"

"Hey... I'm trying to sleep in here. Could you keep it down?"

"Sorry!"

That was definitely out of character for the both of them, usually Vicky would've yelled that request and filled it with venom, and Timmy would've responded with dry wit, or at least a snappy comeback. Just now though...She had asked him to keep it down. But there was no edge to her voice, it was more of a simple request. And him, apologizing to her? Beyond weird.

Timmy returned his attention to the paper in front of him. There was one place he hadn't tried yet, a daycare center that seemed to be fairly new, it had pushed out the learnatorium, though he had no idea how. Dialing the number, he heard the phone ring several times before a sleepy-sounding voice answered.

"...Hello?"

"Hi, is this... The Dimmsdale Daycare Center?"

"No... this is the owner, who you just woke up from a comfortable nap..."

He wasn't sure at first, but once she began speaking, then mentioned the nap, he was able to put the pieces together pretty fast. "Sorry about that. I was just wondering if the position you advertised in the paper is still available?" Just because he knew it was Vicky, didn't mean he was going to tell her it was him, she could figure it out on her own, in the mean time, he would have just a little fun.

He heard Vicky sigh on the other end of the phone. "Yeah, I need a new assistant, on account of the last one being fired. Out of a cannon."

"May I ask why?"

"Kept flirting with me, making advances, grabbing my ass. I told him, no fraternization at the workplace, he didn't listen. Fired him out of a cannon. Need a new assistant, interested or not?"

Timmy contemplated her offer, he wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to work for Vicky after what she had just told him. He didn't plan on making any moves on her, being rebuffed by Trixie was bad enough, he didn't want to ruin the delicate friendship that he and Vicky had. But what if she killed him for something as simple as not getting her coffee exactly right? What if she outright denied him a job on the spot?

"Clock's ticking..."

"Oh! Sorry about that. I... uh... yeah, I'll take the job... I mean! Um... you probably want to interview me first... uh... sorry, I've never had a job before, I'm kinda nervous..."

"Well-" Vicky cut herself off as she yawned. "Lucky for you, I don't bother with interviews, you call for the job, you get the job, you screw up, no one finds the body. Simple."

"..."

"I'm not joking. See you bright and early tomorrow!"

_CLICK_

"I've made a terrible mistake." Timmy facedesked.

_The next day... Saturday? Sure._

Timmy stood in front of The Dimmsdale Daycare Center, as he had been doing for the past half hour, trying to get up the resolve to enter and begin his job. He wondered if Vicky might treat him similarly as to how she did back when she still babysat him.

Well, technically she _did_ still babysit him, but it was mostly because he convinced his parents that he still needed her to babysit him. He did, but not for the reasons they thought, he needed her so he could keep his fairies and because, when he thought of life without Vicky around, he felt... something... depressed maybe? There was a sense of impending loss when he thought about it that he couldn't quite place.

"Alright, I have to do this. No backing down." He slowly walked forward, each step filled with purpose and uncertainty at the same time.

Walking through the large double doors, he looked around to see a girl behind the front desk, short and blonde, and rather attractive, though not familiar. She smiled and waved at him.

Timmy approached the desk and began speaking. "Um... Hey, I'm here for... the job, I guess? Assistant to the director?"

The blonde girl's face paled and her smile faded. "Oh. I'm terribly sorry. Vicky's office is right through there. I was Jenna by the way, it was nice meeting you, hopefully you'll have better luck in the next life..."

"_I can only guess that she assumes I'll be leaving here in a body bag..." _"It was nice meeting you too, but I'll be okay."

"Doubtful." Jenna returned her attention to her computer, though she seemed to be looking at funny pictures of cats, rather than working.

Heading in the direction that Jenna directed him to, Timmy stepped up to the door marked 'Director' below which read 'Vicky'. Her last name appeared to have been there once, but it was now scratched out, leaving only her first. He knocked hesitantly and waited, but received no response.

"Oh, you can just go in, if I know the director, she's probably sleeping at this hour."

"_Sleeping? Well, it makes sense, Vicky isn't a morning person..." _"Er... thanks."

Jenna smiled sympathetically at him and returned to her cat pictures.

Timmy slowly, _very_ slowly, turned the knob and entered, shutting the door behind him. The office wasn't small, nor was it extravagant. Though it had far more than a normal office would. It contained a fridge, hot plate for cooking, a bed, and two couches, along with a large flat screen TV. In the back-center of the room was a large desk, behind which sat Vicky, slumped over her desk, sleeping peacefully, using her arms as a pillow.

Deciding that it would be better to get started, he walked over to the desk and nudged her shoulder with his hand. "Vicky?"

Her response was an incoherent mumble, but she didn't wake up.

"Vicky." he nudged with a bit more force, causing her to stir.

She lifted her head up and looked at him sleepily. "Twerp?"

Timmy could feel those odd thoughts returning. _"God she's cute when she first wakes up... No! Focus! She's your babysitter and friend, just... stop thinking like that! It took you forever to get this far!" _"Um... good morning."

"Morning? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in school?"

"Vicky, it's Saturday."

"Oh. Shouldn't you be at home? Playing video games... or... whatever it is fifteen year old boys do?"

"I thought I'd come by to visit you."

Vicky yawned and stretched. "Not to say I don't like the gesture, but I have someone coming in today for a job, I need to give them my full attention, y'know, make sure they don't steal anything, screw up, things like that."

"So you want me to leave?" Timmy added a hint of sadness to his voice and gave Vicky an equally sad look.

"Oh come on... don't give me that-" Vicky looked to see that Timmy was still giving her that puppy dog stare of his. "Fine. You can stay. As long as you keep outta my and the new guy's way, got it?"

"Yeah, thanks Vicky!"

She didn't know when that look began to influence her, but it did, and he knew it. A fact that she found very irritating, she was the deceiver, the trickster, the grifter, but _he_ had found a way to influence _her_. Maybe it was all the time they spent together, who knows? But she felt comfortable enough around this boy that she didn't bother to address it. "You're just lucky you're my favorite Twerp."

"I'm almost your height!"

"And yet, you're still a Twerp." Vicky laughed.

"Hmph." Timmy set about organizing her papers on her desk.

"What're you doing? Leave that for the newbie."

"I'm just helping. Your office is a mess, do you live here or something?"

"Some nights."

"Really?!"

"Yeah, sometimes work keeps me busy, then I'm too tired to drive home, so I sleep here, hence the bed."

"Wow... I dunno if I could live and sleep in the same place I work..."

"I did it for the past seven years on and off while babysitting you... Anyway, hopefully this new guy will let me finish things here so I don't have to live here..."

"One can hope..." having finished organizing her desk, Timmy began cleaning myriad stains off of where he assumed she prepared her food.

Vicky eyed him curiously from her desk, her eyelids beginning to droop now and then, causing her to occasionally snap her head up and look around, only to begin falling asleep again. "Hey... c'mon... leave _something_ for the new guy..."

"Sorry, I just wanna keep myself busy." Timmy looked up from his cleaning.

"Then play something on the 360... you shouldn't have to clean up after me." Vicky yawned loudly, covering her mouth as she did.

"Really, I don't mind. It's kinda like old times..."

Vicky laid her head down on her arms again. "You mean when I babysat and tortured you on a daily basis?"

"Yeah, nostalgia and junk..."

"You almost sound like you miss it..."

"Nah, not really. Things were simpler back then though. I didn't have to worry about any of the stuff I do now... But I like how far we've come, you and I, me and Tootie, Chester, AJ..."

"You and I?"

"Well..." He was hoping she would ignore that comment. "I'm glad we're... cool, y'know? We've had our differences, but we're past all that now, I'd like to think we're friends..."

"We _are_... friends..." she began to trail off as sleep regained its hold on her.

"Vicky?"

Vicky sat up and looked around. "I'm awake! Is he here?"

Timmy giggled at her. " No, still just me. Why don't you lay down? Sleeping in that position can't be good for your back..."

"I wish I could... but I have to stay awake..."

"Vicky. I'll keep watch, if he shows up, I'll get you up. Get some rest."

Vicky tried thinking about what he said, but quickly began falling asleep again. "Ugh... alright, you've convinced me..." she got up from her desk and lied down on the twin-size bed. "Oh... what about Jenna? If someone shows up, she'll just send them right in... I can't have people walking in and seeing me asleep..."

Timmy walked over to the office door and locked it, then walked over to the bed and pulled a blanket over Vicky. "There, now you can rest easy."

Vicky felt her eyelids becoming heavier, but pressed on to try and stay awake. "Why are you being so nice to me? I certainly don't deserve it..."

"Eh, don't beat yourself up over what you did to me in the past, it's bad for you. You know I'm the 'forgive and forget' type, so don't worry about it."

"Huh... I'm glad we're friends... Twerp..."

Timmy found himself to be a bit too shocked to say anything, and Vicky had already drifted off to sleep anyway. _"Me too..."_

_Several hours later..._

Vicky awoke in her office, it was dark. From what she could tell, it had to be around six at night. "Great... I overslept..." getting out of bed, she stretched and fumbled around for the light switch. "C'mon... Ah! There it is!" flipping it illuminated the room and revealed that it was not only spotless, but organized as well. "Wow..." Vicky walked over to the table that was flanked by the two couches and saw there was a laptop on it.

"I remember you!" Vicky picked up the laptop. "I thought someone stole you!"

It was at this point that Vicky noticed soft breathing coming from her desk. Looking over revealed Timmy sitting in her chair, his legs propped up on the desk and his arms behind his head, the barest hints of a content smile on his face. "Hm. Very cute." she walked over and shook him lightly. "Hey, Twerp?"

"Mmph... not now Trixie, need to sleep, too tired."

"I'm not Trixie. I like to think I have a more interesting personality than that girl you've been fawning over for..." Vicky counted on her fingers. "Seven years now?"

Timmy groaned and stretched. "Meh... I shouldn't have slept in this chair..."

"You shouldn't have slept at all! I thought I asked you to stay awake in case that newbie came?!"

"Hey, I stayed up until four, and I asked Jenna to take care of anyone who came to the door, you didn't lose any business, and that guy never showed up."

"He didn't?"

Timmy felt like telling her, but this would be a good opportunity to see what Vicky thought of the work he had done. "Nope, a few parents showed up to pick up their kids, but that's it."

"Ugh... what a pain. And I can't even kill him for not showing up..."

"Y'know... his phone number might still be in your phone..."

"Nah, I checked this morning, just a few calls from your parents, Tootie, my parents, and a few from you. When did you get my number anyway?"

"Got it from my parents, they gave it to me in case I ever needed to contact you in an emergency and they weren't around."

"I dunno then, I must've deleted it without thinking..."

"Huh. Oh well."

"Did- did you clean my office?"

"I didn't exactly have anything better to do..."

"You uh... you did a nice job... you even found my laptop..."

"I _did_ have lots of practice, thanks to you."

"Um..."

"Yeah?"

"I don't know if that guy who called will ever show up, so... would _you_ be interested in being my assistant?"

"What does being your assistant entail?"

"Pretty much what you did here today, maybe get me lunch, coffee... You wouldn't have to deal with the children... well, not too often, just their parents, who are usually pretty tame... And there's the added benefit for me, I know you, and I know you aren't dumb enough to try and steal from me. You also already know everything I like, and how I want things done... so if you want the job, it's yours."

"So... you trust me?"

"Don't make this weird..." Vicky whined.

"Oh! Sorry! Um... yeah, sure. I'll take the job." He still didn't want to risk his friendship with Vicky; somehow, asking her if she trusted him made it feel like he took a big risk, somehow jeopardizing the understanding the two shared.

"Good, since we live so close together, I'll pick you up every day after school and bring you here on the week days, and every morning at seven on the weekends, sound like a plan?"

"Sure! Thanks Vicky, I figured I'd have to take the bus here..."

"What're friends for? But I expect you to work hard and do your job, at least until you don't have anything to do, then you can feel free to do whatever."

"Got it."

"Great, you need a ride home?"

"You sure you don't mind? I mean, you're already really helping me out here..."

"How about you answer a question of mine?"

"Alright..."

"Why do you want this job?"

"Er..."

"I know your parents give you plenty for an allowance, so why do you want a job too? Getting greedy? Maybe just a little?"

"Um... you know how I still like Trixie?"

"Yep, you follow her around like a love sick puppy."

"Well... I've been trying to win her over with gifts... and I need money for me, so..."

"With a job, you'll be able to get gifts for Trixie, and fuel your video game addiction."

"Yeah, exactly!"

"Jeez Twerp, sometimes I wonder if you're a lost cause..."

"I'm free to love whoever I want."

"That you are. C'mon, let's go."

As Timmy followed Vicky out the door of her office, he briefly wondered if she was right, if he really didn't have a chance with Trixie. But if not Trixie, then who? He may be young, but he didn't want to spend the rest of his life alone. Tootie wasn't an option, she was just too... Tootie, that and AJ had told him that he had the hots for her, what kind of friend would he be if he suddenly did an about-face and started wooing Tootie? A shitty one, that's what kind.

And he had talked to Veronica recently about her affections, he briefly, very briefly, tried a relationship with her, but she was too... Crazy. And once they were together, it seemed like she didn't care anymore, like she had what she wanted, but didn't care to work on keeping it. Thankfully, he was able to have Cosmo and Wanda undo that little wrinkle, so he was able to tell Veronica that a friendship was easier, to which she(thankfully) agreed.

Finally... there was her. A relationship he knew could never be. A relationship that only existed in his head, at the fringes of his mind, where it belonged. On some rare nights, when Trixie wasn't on his mind, Vicky was. He didn't even know why, she had treated him slightly better than garbage, yet his thoughts somehow found their way to her. Maybe it was because of how unattainable she seemed, a goal he secretly strove for, yet would never achieve. Maybe he had developed some sort of off-shoot form of Stockholm's Syndrome and was mentally drawn toward her. Maybe-

"Are you gonna stare into space all day Twerp? C'mon, I have to lock up."

"Oh! Right, sorry Vicky, I'm coming!"

"Jeez, you space out a lot..."


	2. Chapter 2

"Blah..." Timmy stared at the computer screen. "It's done." He looked over at Vicky, who was sleeping on the bed in what was essentially her and Timmy's shared office.

There was no response, just Vicky's steady breathing.

"Asleep again. Amazing considering how much coffee I get you."

Vicky preferred extra large cups of iced coffee.

Timmy stood up and stretched, hearing his bones pop and crack as he did. "Urgh... getting too old for this..." he spoke in a mocking old man voice, then pressed the button on Vicky's office phone. "Jenna?"

"Yes Vicky?"

"Her assistant actually."

"Oh! Sorry, what's up Timmy?"

"I'm gonna head out to get some food, you want anything?"

"Ah... just get me a sub, turkey and cheese, pickles. And... a coke, I guess."

"Got it, no calls. Vicky is..."

"Sleeping?"

"No. She's..."

"Timmy, it's fine. I know Vicky sleeps a lot."

"She... has a tough job."

"Mm-hm. Thanks for lunch, I'll pay you back-"

"Don't worry about it. Just keep the fact that the boss sleeps in her office under your hat."

"My lips are sealed. But, I have a question. Why didn't you come out here to talk to me?"

"..."

"Ah, didn't think of it?"

"Ahem... er... I'll be right out." Timmy walked over to Vicky. "Hey, I'm going out to get some food, want anything?"

Vicky stirred slightly. "Same... same as... usual... Twerp."

"Alright, see you in an hour boss." he leaned down and kissed her cheek, then pulled her blanket up more and left the office, locking the door as he did.

It had been about a month since Veronica's birthday party, a month since he found out Trixie never cared about him at all; she just used him to make Tad and Chad jealous... And a month since he started dating Vicky, his evil babysitter-turned-acquaintance-turned-girlfriend. That was something that only he and Vicky knew about though.

It was at Vicky's request that they kept their relationship a secret, she claimed it would be too much work to explain things to their families and friends. Timmy questioned how keeping the relationship a secret from everybody would be any easier, to which she responded by kissing him, shutting him up instantly.

"What the boss says, goes." he mused to himself as he got into Vicky's car. He was surprised that she trusted him enough to let him drive it, he had gotten his driver's license at his parents' request after turning sixteen, but that mattered little to him without access to a car.

With Vicky preferring to let him handle much of the day to day activities at the daycare center though, she figured it would be wise to let him use her car, which would have been fine, except Vicky drove a high-end sports car that was likely not street legal. It took some getting used to. Along with almost getting into a few fatal accidents.

He was now stopped at a red light, waiting for it to turn green and not noticing Chester walking on the sidewalk next to the car, so naturally, he didn't have time to hide before Chester saw him.

"Timmy? Hey dude, what's up?!"

"_Crap."_ He rolled down the window. "Eh... not much... just going to get some lunch..."

"Oh? Whereabouts?"

"Arnold's Pizza Shop."

"No way! I'm headed there too! I work there!"

"You _work_?"

"Yeah, I do. Mind giving me a ride?"

"Uh... sure... get in."

"Thanks!" Chester said as he got in. "So, your parents get you this sporty ride?"

"Nah, belongs to my boss."

"Oh?" Chester sniffed the air. "Your boss is a chick then?"

"How do you-"

"The nose knows. Smells too clean and girly to be your car, and it's too neat."

"Thanks..." Timmy rolled his eyes at his friend.

"So is she hot?"

"What do you care? Aren't you dating Veronica?"

"Well yeah, but she's not here, so she can't get mad at me for asking you about how hot your boss is."

"Chester, I work for Vicky." Timmy deadpanned.

"Wha? Really?! Damn dude! I'm sorry! I thought we were all done with her after we were old enough to not need a babysitter... Guess you drew the short straw, huh?"

"Suppose so."

"But at least she's hot."

"Huh?!" Timmy was so shocked by what Chester said that he swerved slightly.

"Yeah, Vicky may be evil, but you gotta admit, she's fine as Hell."

"Alright, this is getting weird."

"Hey man, I'm not saying I have any intentions, I'm just saying."

"Right..."

"Y'know, now may be your chance..." Chester spoke uncharacteristically slyly.

"Beg your pardon?"

"Yeah! You can get in good with Vicky, since she's your boss!"

"Get in good? What exactly are you suggesting?"

"Y'know... she's single, you're single..."

"You can stop that thought right there. There's no way I would even _think_ about thinking about dating Vicky, did you forget what she used to do to us? Or are you just delusional?"

"I'm not delusional, I'm just telling you that you might be able to work out a good deal for yourself. Vicky's fine as Hell, you can admit that?"

"Well... I mean... I guess... She's certainly easy on the eyes..." _"She's more than just easy on the eyes, you twit!"_

"And I heard about what happened between you and Trixie. If you can get Vicky to go out with you, not only will you have it easy at work, but you might also get some rebound sex from Vicky!"

Timmy blushed and swerved again at Chester's words. "Seriously dude?! Stop! Me and Vicky?! Doing... Agh!"

"Please. Don't act like you haven't thought about it. You've spent the most time with her."

"T-that doesn't mean a damn thing! Look, it was hard enough to get on Vicky's good side and be her friend, I'm not gonna jeopardize that by asking her out... it would just make things... weird between us. Besides, you know the rules about fraternization at work."

"Of course I know that, but my boss is Arnold Schwarzengerman, your boss is a smoking hot, evil red-head."

Timmy pulled up in front of Arnold's pizza shop and followed Chester inside. "Chester, for both our sakes, let's pretend this conversation never happened. Here." Timmy handed Chester the list of food he wished to order.

"Got it, should be ready in about... fifteen minutes."

"Thanks." Timmy went to sit at one of the tables while Chester went behind the counter and into the kitchen.

He was looking over the menu when his phone began to ring. Timmy took out his phone without averting his eyes from the menu and answered it. "Yo."

"What's taking so long...?"

It was Vicky, sleepily whining from the other end. "Sorry, Chester saw me at a red light and he happens to work at the restaurant, I had to give him a ride. Don't worry, he said it shouldn't be too long of a wait."

"Ugh... you're not getting high with him, are you?"

"Vicky, you know I don't do that shit."

"Just making sure..."

"Miss me yet?"

"You've been gone for all of thirty minutes. So yes." Vicky added cutely.

"I'll be back soon enough, try to be patient."

"Telling your boss to be patient? I'm making you work late for that."

"Nothing I can't handle, your job is cake for me."

"I wasn't talking about making you work late at the daycare center..." Vicky spoke seductively.

"Oh yeah? Heh... I'll have to tell Chester to put a rush on our lunch then."

"You do that."

"Alright, see you when I get back. I lo- Mm... Bye."

"Bye... I guess...?" Vicky hung up.

Timmy pocketed his phone and wiped imaginary sweat from his brow. He had almost told her he loved her. Not like it wasn't true, he did most definitely love Vicky, but saying it when they had only been together for about a month? No way, he didn't want to scare her off or something...

"Yo, food's ready." Chester called to him from behind the counter.

Timmy stood up from his seat and walked over, taking out his wallet as he did. "How much do I owe ya?"

"Let's see... adding the senior discount... and the employee discount..."

"Huh?" Timmy looked at Chester incredulously. "Senior? Employee?"

"Hey, shut up. I can't just give you a 'discount because we're friends' discount, so I'm doing this. I owe you for giving me a ride too. That'll be... ten-twenty-eight."

"Thanks man." Timmy handed Chester the money. "So, is Ah-nuld around?"

"Nah, big man's out killing pepperoni." Chester spoke without any hints of amusement in his voice.

"Um..."

"His words, not mine."

"Okay then! I'm gonna go ahead and get outta here. Thanks for the food, Chester."

"Hey, anytime... And give my idea some thought, eh?"

"I'll try not to..." keeping his and Vicky's relationship a secret was top priority, though he suspected that Tootie already knew, she was deviously smart, smarter even than AJ, though she did her best to hide it. He exited the restaurant and got back into Vicky's car, inhaling as he did and realizing that it did smell a bit like the perfume she wore. "Never noticed that before..."

He drove back to the daycare and finally felt at home driving Vicky's car. The acceleration made him uneasy, and the car turned on a dime, even when he was driving _well_ above the speed limit, but he felt like he had a good measure of control over it.

Timmy pulled into the daycare center parking lot, leaving a fiery trail and angry parents in his wake. Timmy got out and noticed their angry stares. "No worries! I work here!"

Several parents gasped at the notion and headed inside to get away from this obviously insane teenager. Timmy followed them in and waved at them, then handed Jenna her sandwich before heading to Vicky's office and letting himself inside.

He entered to find Vicky still laying on the bed, but her eyes shot open as he entered. "You're back." Vicky tossed the covers off herself and stood up. "And I see you didn't get into any accidents either. Well done."

"Hmph. Have a little faith." Timmy placed the bag containing their food down on Vicky's desk. "Everything okay here?"

"Just fine." Vicky sat down at her desk.

"Good. Chester thinks I should start dating my 'smoking hot' boss."

"Oh? That's against company policy pretty much everywhere..." Vicky spun in her office chair.

"I know, told him too. Though I gotta say..." Timmy stepped over to Vicky and slid into the chair next to her, then lifted her up and sat her down on his lap. "It _does_ sound like a pretty good idea..."

"Except you've already done it."

"Shoot! Forgot about that!" Timmy kissed her neck.

"Hey! Calm down now! We're not doing _that_ here!" Vicky squirmed in his grasp, but clearly wasn't putting much effort into getting away.

"...No, I suppose not..." Timmy leaned back, but did not relinquish his grip on Vicky, forcing her to lean back as well.

"What were you gonna say when I called you earlier?"

"Hm?"

"You were dangerously close to saying a certain 'L' word, if I'm not mistaken."

"Oh... that... hehe... I- um..."

"It's okay." Vicky leaned back, causing her cheek to rub against his. "Saying it makes things sound... final, serious."

"It's not that... I like being with you, Vicky. And I like you. I _really_ like you, I just don't want to creep you out by saying..."

"Something like that..." Vicky's eyes were closed, a content smile on her face. "It's alright, really. I like you too. It's nice to keep things simple..." Vicky trailed off.

"Still tired?"

"Nah, just comfortable. If I fall asleep... keep an eye on things for me?"

"You know me..." Timmy rubbed his cheek against hers.

He loved her, and she loved him, at least, he believed she did. When he was ready, he'd tell her.

And she was willing to wait.


	3. Chapter 3

"So you're just gonna tell them?" Vicky looked at Timmy incredulously.

"That's the plan."

"It's not a very good one." Vicky was currently driving Timmy home from the daycare, he had stayed late so he could talk to her about their relationship.

_Flashback Time!_

"_Vicky."_

"_I'm not giving you a raise, you get enough as it is since we're dating..." a sly smile graced her lips as she looked over various papers on her desk. _

"_We need to talk."_

"_Are you breaking up with me?"_

"_No! Of course not!" Timmy slid his chair next to hers and wrapped an arm around her waist, in a way that suggested if he didn't, she would simply disappear from his life._

"_Good, because I wouldn't let you if you did. So what's this about?"_

"_My parents."_

_Vicky sighed loudly and rubbed her forehead. "Okay...?"_

"_They think I have a girlfriend. They said that's why I'm always going out, I must have a girlfriend."_

"_Last I checked, you _do_ have a girlfriend."_

"_Well they want to meet her."_

_Vicky groaned at this. "I've already met them, I don't really want to do it again, couldn't we just keep this hush-hush?"_

"_No, evidently not. They're too nosy for their own good and I don't want to hide our relationship anymore, it's too much work."_

"_But... what if they don't approve?"_

"_Then they don't. That's not gonna stop me from seeing you. And I know it isn't gonna keep you from seeing me."_

"_...Fine, when do you wanna do this?"_

"_Tonight."_

"_Tonight?!" Vicky looked at him with wide eyes. "Why tonight? How about tomorrow? Or next week? Or never?"_

"_Exactly. If we don't do it now, I'm gonna lose my resolve, then we might never do it, better to just get it over with, don't ya think?"_

"_No..."_

"_Don't be like that, I know you know that we should just do it."_

_Vicky responded by putting her face in her hands and groaning again._

_End of Flashback..._

"You know my parents, Vicky. They probably won't even care."

"I dunno... I have a bad feeling about this..."

"Maybe you're just hungry?"

"Not likely..."

Arriving at Timmy's house, Timmy got out of the car, but stopped when Vicky made no moves to do so. "Vicky?"

"..."

"_I knew she cared about me and our relationship, especially after she came home from the mall that day, but..." _"Vicky, it's gonna be okay, really."

"Then why am I not very re-assured?"

"Come on..." Timmy grabbed Vicky's hand and helped her up out of the car, though as he walked her to the front door, she pulled her hand away. "Really?"

"I'm nervous. Don't look at me like that."

Timmy rolled his eyes and opened the door. "After you."

"Yeah, let me go in first, like a guinea pig..."

"Actually... I was just being a gentleman. 'Ladies first'?"

Vicky huffed and entered, followed by Timmy.

"Mom? Dad? We're here!"

Timmy's mother and father entered the living room from the kitchen. "Oh! Timmy, we were wondering if you'd make it tonight."

"Sorry, boss kept me late..." he smiled and gestured at Vicky.

"Oh? Doing what?"

"Mom, I told you, I work for Vicky at her daycare center..."

"Hm? Must have slipped my mind, anyway, thank you for giving him a ride home Vicky!"

"Oh it's no problem Mrs. Turner, your son's a hard worker! It's the least I can do!"

"To think, just a few years ago, you were babysitting Timmy, and now here he is working for you... I'm glad the two of you get along so well..."

"Me too!" Vicky pulled Timmy into a hug.

"So, did you drive his secret girlfriend here too? We've been dying to meet her!"

"Yeah... about that..." Timmy began. "Vicky and I... um..."

"Well? Come on son, spit it out. Your mother and I have plans tonight, so we'd like to meet this girl that's taking up all your time, make sure she's a good fit for you."

"You never cared about what went on before when it came to my well-being..." Timmy mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing... Anyway... that's the other reason Vicky is here... She and I..."

"Time's ticking, Sport."

Timmy sighed at his parents' lack of patience. "Vicky is my girlfriend. She's the reason I spend so much time away. We've been dating for a few months now."

The deadly silence that followed unnerved the Timmy and Vicky, though it was quickly broken by raucous laughter.

"_They think I'm joking? Well, I shouldn't be surprised. It _is_ unexpected, even from someone like me." _"I'm serious."

His parents continued to laugh at him.

"Oh... Vicky..." his mother spoke between bouts of laughter. "Are you in on this little joke too?"

Vicky had wanted to speak as little as possible, but felt it would be wise to speak up and help her boyfriend out. "It's true."

"Pahaha!"

Timmy walked over and stood next to Vicky. "Well, we tried..."

"Oh no, I'm not about to sit here and get laughed at!"

"What do you propose?"

"I happen to know of one sure-fire way that will work, just follow my lead."

"'Kay."

Vicky pulled him into her and into a passionate kiss, as soon as their lips connected, the laughter in the living room fell silent, but Timmy and Vicky paid little attention. For the moment, they were in their own little world. Vicky felt Timmy's tongue lightly brush her lips, but before she could respond, there was a loud sound akin to someone clearing their throat. Vicky whispered 'Told ya' as she pulled away.

All was quiet in the living room, but to Timmy, it felt like the calm before the storm.

"What did your mother and I just witness?!"

And there it was. "Sorry, I just needed a way to get you two to realize we're together." Vicky shrugged nonchalantly, this wasn't saccharine Vicky, nor was it nervous Vicky. This was the Vicky that children feared, that adults feared, that Timmy up until recently feared.

"How long has this been going on?!" evidently, his parents did not realize that they were poking a sleeping dragon.

"Oh, it's been years. Yep, our relationship goes way back."

"Wha?! I- You- you're... some kind of sexual predator!" Timmy's father yelled.

"Dad..."

"No! You've... you took advantage of our son while we were away! We trusted you!"

"I know, which made it so much easier to deceive you... Ah well, thanks for being gullible!"

"Vicky... maybe we should-"

"Timmy! Get over here, now! I forbid you from seeing this- this- I don't even know what to call you!" Timmy's father directed his attention to Vicky now. "And I'll be seeing you in court!"

Timmy didn't move from his spot, he held Vicky's hand in his and was trying to convince her to explain the situation more eloquently... and truthfully.

"Timmy! Get away from that harlot and come over here!"

Timmy tore his gaze away from Vicky's smug expression and narrowed his eyes at his father. "What did you just call her?"

"It sounded like he called me a-" Vicky was silenced by Timmy's finger on her lips.

"Let's get something straight. I _am_ dating Vicky. We have been together for a few months, since Veronica's birthday party. You will _not_ ever, _ever_ speak badly about the girl I love."

"It isn't love! You're just confused-"

"Shut up! For years, you've neglected me, ignored me, left me by myself. But now, when I finally find some happiness, you want to take it away?!"

"But-"

"No. I don't want to hear it. I don't really care if you approve of our relationship or not, and why should I? You've never really cared about me..."

"We do care..."

"Then you both have a funny way of showing it."

Vicky put her arm around his shoulders, she could tell that alienating himself from his parents like this was quickly taking its toll on him.

"I forbid you from seeing her." his father remained defiant. "I don't know or care how long this has been going on, it still isn't right, how long did you look at my son in such a way before you sunk your claws into him?"

"Mr. Turner, for the record, Timmy initiated the relationship, not me. It was my choice to go along with it. Also for the record, I've taken far better care of him than the two of you combined."

"What about all the things she did to you Timmy? All those times you said she was evil? What about those?!"

"Funny how those only come to light now. Now that I've forgiven her, and you want to keep us apart by using any angle you can find." Timmy spat back.

"I-"

"You know what? I don't care what you think. You don't want us together, right?"

"That's right, your mother and I-"

"Fine. I'm moving out."

"What?!" both of his parents yelled together.

"If you don't want to accept that we're together, that's fine. But you won't keep us apart. I'll move out, stay with Vicky."

"But you can't! We love you, doesn't that mean anything?!"

"Of course it does, and I love you too, but I love Vicky more. That's all there is to it."

Though her face betrayed no emotion, Vicky's heart was all aflutter at hearing these words from Timmy, he was willing to move out of his own house, away from the only family he had ever known, to be with her. His evil babysitter, his boss, his girlfriend. Who he loved. Loved? Yes, that's what he said, without a second thought, he said that he loved her. They thought what they had was love, but neither one had the courage to say it to the other before today, afraid that they might be moving too fast. She wished to pick up where they had left off, before being interrupted by his parents, but there would be time for that later.

"I'm going to grab some things from my room." Timmy reluctantly let go of Vicky's hand and made his way upstairs, leaving his parents at Vicky's mercy, and certainly not the other way around.

"How long has this been going on, really?" Timmy's mother was the first to speak up.

"Like he said, a few months, since he went to that party with that girl... Trixie, I think?"

"We thought- he always seemed so fond of her... we thought she might be his girlfriend..."

"Funny story, she wasn't so fond of him. Apparently she used him to make a couple of guys jealous." she noticed Timmy's mother about to speak, likely questioning her usage of 'a couple'. "Yes, a couple. As in, the girl you thought he liked and he thought he liked is dating _two_ guys."

"What... did he do when he found out?"

"Timmy's a strong kid, he did what most wouldn't be able to, he put up a brave face and acted like everything was fine, he didn't really break down until he came home, I just happened to be here because I was bored at my house."

"If he had told us-"

"Then it would've been more of the same, you two ignore him on a daily basis, it's a wonder he isn't as screwed up as most would be. Everytime he's had a problem, he's had to go to someone else for comfort, his friends, my sister, me even! Yet he can't ever go to you, because he knows that you two won't make time for him, you ever think about what that does to a kid? Do you even care? Instead of his parents, he had to come to _me_ at times. _Me_. All those stories he told you, about how evil I was? All true, yet you were too oblivious to see it. Tell me, if we can't count on our parents for love and support, who can we count on?"

"..."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Vicky sneered at the two before her, their neglect had always bothered her, but now, it downright disgusted her.

Her parents never treated her or Tootie this way, they loved them both unconditionally, like parents should. Someone once asked her about her parents, citing that that must be the reason she was so mean to everyone. In reality, it couldn't be further from the truth, being mean just came naturally to her. She and Tootie had great parents, they were never left alone, or wanting for anything; they were practically spoiled.

Timmy returned at last, carrying a dufflebag and his goldfish bowl.

"All set Timmy?"

"Yeah..."

"Timmy..." his mother spoke as tears threatened to spill out.

"Save it. I'll come back for the rest of my things tomorrow." he couldn't back down, scary as the situation was, he had to be strong.

Vicky left and he quickly followed, not wanting to stick around to hear his mother's sobs, fearing he'd lose his resolve if he did.

He put his things in the car and sat down in the passenger seat.

"You sure about this?" Vicky placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Either they give in, or they don't." Timmy shrugged. "At least I'll leave without any regrets..."

"Hm..."

Both were silent for the drive back to Vicky's house, though this was soon broken by Vicky. "Hope you don't mind sharing my bed with me."

"That's never stopped me before..." he grinned at her as he got out of the car.

"Cool it hotshot, at least until we get to my room..."

Timmy began taking his dufflebag out of the car, but was interrupted as a truck hit him.

"Timmy!"

A truck with a high pitched voice.

"What're you doing here?!"

Wait. False alarm, no truck, just Tootie.

Timmy wrapped his arms around Tootie as he lay pinned to the asphalt. "Hi Tootie... don't you have a boyfriend now?"

"Oh, AJ doesn't mind, he knows how close we are..."

"That may be, but you don't need to tackle me everytime we see each other... especially since we see each other every day!"

Tootie got off him and helped him up. "Sorry, old habits, you know how it is. So why are you here so late?"

He dusted himself off as he stood up. "Parents. Apparently, they're not too keen on me seeing Vicky..."

"Oh... sorry to hear that."

"Thanks... I'm just staying here for awhile, y'know, guilt trip them by saying I'm moving out, hopefully they come to their senses, if not... well, I guess my staying here might become a bit more permanent."

Vicky's father came out now, likely from all the noise outside. "What's going on out here?"

"Hey Vick."

"Timmy? What're you doing here so late? Vicky making you work overtime?"

"Heheh, nah, just some difficulties at home. Alright if I stay here for awhile?"

"'Course! You're her boyfriend, stay as long as you like, I'll have Char set an extra spot for you for dinner! Charlotte? We got one more coming!"

"Who is it?" Timmy heard Vicky's mother yell.

"It's Timmy!"

"Oh! Hi Timmy! Forgive me for not greeting you in person."

"That's okay! I'll see you in a sec!" Timmy hefted his dufflebag out of the car, only for Vick to grab it away from him.

"Let me grab that for you!"

"I got it-"

"I insist! You're our guest!"

"Dad... he's only our guest on his first visit..." Vicky rolled her eyes, but smiled nonetheless.

"Ah, I don't mind helping, besides, I need the exercise." Vick took Timmy's bag into the house, leaving him to grab Cosmo and Wanda.

Once his things were settled in Vicky room, Timmy sat down for dinner with her and her family.

"So Timmy, what's been going on since the last time we saw you?"

"Not much really. My parents have been asking why I'm always out so late after school..."

"Haven't you told them you have a job?" Vicky's mother asked.

"Several times actually, but you know how they are... I figured it was time that I told them about me and Vicky, so we went over there to do just that..."

"In hindsight, I probably could've handled the situation better..." Vicky smiled sheepishly.

"Oh boy... Timmy? What did she do this time?"

"She may have revealed our relationship a little too strongly. What with kissing me in front of my parents..."

"Vicky..." her mother shook her head, but smiled. She knew how her daughter could be.

"Hey, they didn't take us seriously when we told them. They just kept laughing at the both of us, I figured it would be easier to just show them..."

"Heh... you get that from your father, he pulled a similar stunt with my parents when we were first dating..."

"I wanted to show that I meant business. Not my fault your dad chased me around the yard with a shotgun after I did..."

The kitchen broke out into fits of laughter and giggles as Vicky's parents reminisced about old times. This type of relationship he had with Vicky's parents is what he wanted from his own parents. Parents who cared about him, accepted his relationship with Vicky.

In all honesty, he expected Vicky's parents to condemn their relationship. It wasn't even he or Vicky that told them about it, it was Tootie, she was the one who had told her parents, likely because neither Timmy nor Vicky had any plans to; they were still planning on keeping their relationship a secret back then. Had they known that Vicky's parents would've just been happy to know that Vicky had found someone, they would've told them much sooner.

"Ah... well, your mother and I both have big days ahead of us tomorrow, so we'll be getting to bed pretty soon. Tootie, Vicky, try not to stay up too late. And Timmy? Remember, you're welcome to stay as long as you need."

"Thanks Vick."

"Anytime."

Vicky's parents left and headed upstairs, followed soon after by Tootie.

"Wow... if only my dad knew what we've been up to while we're alone..."

"Let's keep that between us. Me and him are cool now, so-"

"Please, I'm twenty two and you're sixteen, I'm pretty sure he has a good idea that we do _that_..."

"Well, for safety's sake, let's not talk about it. I'd rather not have things be awkward between me and your parents..."

"So..."

"Yeah?"

"Back at your house... you said you love me."

Timmy's face quickly turned crimson. "Um... I- S-so I did..."

"Did you say it to get your point across to your parents... or because it's true?"

"I um... well... both, I suppose... I was hoping that that would convince them... but I should've known better... Me saying something like that just made me sound like an idiot... but even so, it _is_ true. I know we've only been dating for a few months... and I don't want you to feel like things are moving too fast... but after you came back from the mall that day, when you said that you were practically miserable without me, I guess that's when I realized it. Maybe I'm clingy, or just need someone close by because my parents weren't there for me, but I like being around you. Sometimes I don't know what to do with myself when you aren't around, y'know?"

"That's the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me." she smiled warmly at him.

"Well, I'm nothing, if not sweet."

"You wanna head up to my room? Get some sleep?"

"I'm not even tired..."

"We'll think of something... I've got TV, video games, internet, and of course, me." she added a seductive tone for the last part.

"Lead the way."

Vicky stood up from the table and made her way upstairs, followed by Timmy.

_The next morning..._

Timmy and Vicky awoke and headed for the shower... Together, much to Tootie's annoyance.

Not because she had a problem with the two being sexually active, it was more because...

"Would you two hurry up?! I'm meeting AJ in less than an hour... I need to shower too!"

"Next time, get up before us!" Vicky giggled from the bathroom.

"You two need to make up your minds! First you sleep in until noon, then suddenly you're up at seven?!"

There was more quiet chuckling from the bathroom, but no response. Tootie huffed and headed downstairs, maybe she could get some breakfast first... she suddenly felt an odd hunger come about her... a strange... craving...

After taking entirely too long in the shower, Timmy and Vicky exited, fully dressed and ready to either reconcile with Timmy's parents, or get the rest of his things and move him into her house.

Getting into her car, she immediately noticed his downcast expression. "It'll be okay, you know that, right? No matter what happens, you've got me."

"I know... but it doesn't really make it any easier..."

"Decisions like this never are."

When they arrived back at Timmy's house, they didn't expect what they found, Timmy's mother sat at the kitchen table, her face stained with tears. His father had five o' clock shadow and sounded hungover. The bottle of whiskey in the trash only confirmed this suspicion.

"Mom? Dad?"

His mother turned around when she heard his voice, got out of her chair, and hugged him. "Oh Timmy! We thought you'd..."

He could tell from her voice that the tears threatened to spill again.

"Son..." his father tiredly rubbed his eyes. "Your mother and I talked over your decision last night. I'm not happy about this... whatever it is between you two, but..." he grabbed the glass in front of him, drank the last few drops, and sat it back down on the table. "You're our son, if being with Vicky is what you want, I won't keep you two apart. We've both made mistakes as your parents, I don't expect you to forgive us... but you deserve to be happy, both of you."

"...Thanks..."

"But I want to set some ground rules."

Vicky spoke up now. "You really aren't in any position to make demands."

"Just hear me out. If you two are going to be dating, I expect you both to practice safe sex. Timmy is too young to be taking care of an infant, as are you, Vicky. Second, I don't want this relationship to affect Timmy's schooling, he-"

"Dad, I've been dating Vicky for months now, as I told you last night. My schoolwork has only improved since then, because I've got someone to help me with it." he wanted to add 'like you two were always too busy to', but decided against it.

"Fine, that's all... your mother and I need to get some sleep, we've been up all night."

"Alright... I'm gonna stay at Vicky's for a few more days... give us all some space..."

"That may be for the best..."

Timmy watched his parents head upstairs, then sat down on the living room couch when he heard their bedroom door shut. "So that went better than expected."

Vicky sat down next to him and pulled him close. "I told you it would..."

"Hmph... yeah, guess I should've trusted you more..."

"Eh, that's alright, you can make it up to me by working overtime."

"That's not much of a punishment... you going soft on me?"

"Only a little..."


	4. Chapter 4

_RING-RING_

"Timmy... answer the phone..." Vicky spoke from her bed in her office.

_RING-RING_

"Hello? Yes, this is the Dimmsdale Daycare Center... Hm? Vicky? No, this is Timmy. She's out at the moment, I'm her assistant. Alright... you'll be picking up Susan a bit later? Okay... six o' clock, got it. See you then. Goodbye." Timmy hung up the phone and slumped into the large chair. "Y'know, when I took this job, I figured I'd just have to get you coffee, arrange your office, organize paperwork... I didn't think you'd have me doing your job for you..."

"Hey, I pay you well, better than everyone else here, and I'm dating you. That should be payment enough." Vicky rolled over to look at him sleepily.

"But I'm not qualified to-"

"Answer the phone? Sit in a comfy chair and tell people what to do? I know, my job is just _so _tough..."

"Ooh... sarcasm, there's a new one..." Timmy put his feet up on the desk. "I guess so... it's just..."

"What? Not exciting enough?"

"Exactly."

"What did you expect? You don't really get to have a fun job that also pays well."

"Why did you even open a daycare? Aren't you supposed to be retired or something?"

"I like money. I claim to be retired in all my paperwork, but that's the beauty of being a good liar. I could always have you work as one of the daycare staff, deal with those things that people call children."

"Yeah, I'm gonna go with no. From what Jenna has told me, most of the kids here are little imps." Timmy flipped open her laptop and turned it on.

"That's not far from the truth, why do you think so many people bring their kids here?"

"Because they're like my parents? Don't have time for them?"

"Well, I'm sure that's the case with some of the kids here, but most of them are just so unruly that their parents bring them here to get some peace and quiet at home..."

"Sounds to me like they shouldn't have had the kids in the first place if they can't be bothered to take care of them..."

"I'm sure that's the case for some of the parents that come here, but you have to think about the people who might not have had the choice too." Vicky took a sip from the bottle of pink lemonade on her bedside table. "Maybe the kids' parents' parents wouldn't let them have abortions, maybe some of the kids are products of less than consensual relationships? Y'know?"

"Yeah, good point."

_BUZZ_

"Ugh... should've turned my phone off... answer it for me, would ya?" Vicky tossed him her phone.

"Like you couldn't have?" he grinned at her.

"I'm... indisposed... Look it's Tootie, just answer it and tell her I'm sleeping." Vicky turned over and faced the wall.

"Hello?"

"Vicky?"

"Timmy. What's up Toots?"

"I- er... can I talk to Vicky?"

"She's..." Timmy looked over at Vicky, who began fake-snoring. "Sleeping... what's up?"

"It's... kinda private..."

"Tootie. You're my best friend, you can trust me."

"I know, but..." Tootie groaned. "I uh... just- er... you remember how I haven't really been feeling good lately? And how I've been eating... some odd things?"

"Yeah, part of growing up is liking new things, I didn't like Hawaiian pizza for the longest time, then last month I had some and thought it was really good, remember?"

"This is... different. Really different."

"Oh? How so?"

"It... just is. Me being sick... mostly in the _morning_? Y'know?"

"_What is she talking about? Cravings? Morning sickness... I- Oh. Oh!" _"You think you're..."

"No, I know I'm..."

"Pregnant."

"Yeah. I took a pregnancy test. And by 'a' pregnancy test, I mean _five_. All positive."

"Well, now I see why you wanted to talk to Vicky! Congratulations!"

"Yeah... heheh... thanks Timmy..."

"What's up? You don't sound too thrilled about it."

"It's just..."

"Hm... it's AJ's, right?"

"Yes, of course it is! Who elses could it be?"

"I dunno, mine?" there was a certain playfulness to his voice that Tootie picked up on.

"Very funny. Yes, my obsession over you has caused some sort of weird immaculate conception." her voice dripped with sarcasm.

"I thought that was what it might've been. So what's wrong then?"

"I- Vicky once said that AJ would break my heart and leave me... what if-"

"Stop right there. AJ wouldn't do that, I know he wouldn't."

"But... what if he does?"

"First of all, that's a pretty big frickin' if. Second, if he does, either me or Vicky will kill him. Possibly both of us. And I think he knows it. Those are just the hormones talking. You wanna talk to Vicky?"

"I thought she was asleep?"

"This is more important than beauty sleep." Timmy stood up from the chair and strode over to Vicky. "Vicky? Tootie wants to talk to you." Vicky continued to fake-snore. "Vicky. It's important." he poked her side, causing her to jump in surprise.

"Hey... stop taking advantage of my ticklishness..."

"Tootie's pregnant." he deadpanned.

"What?! No way! Is it Baldy's?!"

"Yeah. Here."

Vicky snatched the phone away. "Tootie?"

"Hey Vicky..."

"So, got a bun in the oven, eh?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, congrats Sis!"

"Thanks..."

"Jeez... why are you in such a downer mood? You should be happy!"

"I'm happy... I just-"

"Even if AJ doesn't help you take care of it, you still have us, don't forget that."

"How did you-?"

"Big sisters are smart. Also, what else could it be? I'm sure you're worrying over nothing though. AJ's smart enough to know what'll happen to him if he doesn't help you take care of the kid... That being said... you should probably tell him soon."

"I know..."

"...Well then get to it!"

"Oh! Um... right, thanks Vicky, and tell Timmy thanks too."

"Uh-huh, later Toots." Vicky hung up the phone, tossed it to Timmy, and buried herself back under her blankets, groaning as she did.

"Guess we'll be having a rugrat crawling around pretty soon, calling you-"

"Don't say it!"

"Auntie Vicky." he grinned evilly at her.

"Meh..." Vicky whined and waved him away. "Get back to work, you have my job to do."

Timmy snickered and returned to the chair by the desk. "What do you want for lunch?"

"I don't care... does any place deliver alcohol?"

"Don't think so."

"Just order me a sub... you know how I like it."

"Mm-hm, got it."

_Several months later..._

"But... I don't remember..." Tootie laid in a hospital bed, cradling a pink-eyed, red-haired infant in her arms.

"That's perfectly normal. You were heavily medicated when you gave birth." A pink haired doctor was speaking to her, she wore a nametag identifying her as Doctor Wanda. "Yep, as you can see, everything went along quite smoothly, you should be able to leave the hospital tomorrow, should you want to."

"R-really?" AJ spoke up from next to her.

"Yep! Like I said, everything went smoothly."

"How come I don't remember anything either?"

"Hm..." the pink haired doctor flipped through some pages on her clipboard. "AJ? It seems you fainted shortly after your girlfriend went into labor... hit your head pretty hard on the floor... You probably just have some light amnesia, should pass eventually."

"Oh wow... I guess I'm a light weight when it comes to blood and guts..."

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, most people are..."

"Oh! What about my friend Timmy? Or Vicky, my sister? Did they get here in time?"

"Hm... let's see... Oh! Here we go... it seems they got here a little late, hospital policy dictated that they couldn't come in I'm afraid... They're outside in the hall, should I send them in?"

"Yes, please do."

"Alright, if either of you need anything, just ask for me or my colleague, Doctor Cosmo, you'll know him by his green hair."

Wanda left the room and headed for the waiting area. "Vicky? Your sister is awake, you can go see her if you want."

"Finally!" Vicky stood up and made for the room she saw Wanda leave. "This hospital and its rules are really starting to piss me off!" Vicky looked back at Timmy. "You coming?"

"In a minute, just want to have a few words with your sister's doctor, I'll be in there in a sec."

"Give 'em Hell." Vicky smiled at Timmy before entering the room.

Timmy waited until the door shut before speaking. "Phew... sorry about all that."

"It was no problem Timmy, I understand why you had to do it. You were worried about her."

"Yeah... she's okay though, right?"

"Of course. Hard to have complications during childbirth when you just wish the baby to be born. That was good timing too, as far as she knows, she went into labor, got driven here, and then was given medication good enough so that she was almost completely out of it."

"And AJ?"

"He slipped in a puddle of water that the janitor missed, I told him he passed out while Tootie was giving birth, he doesn't remember a thing either."

"Cool. Guess we're all set then, huh?"

"Looks that way. You should probably head in there, Vicky will be wondering..."

"Yeah, thanks Wanda. And tell Cosmo thanks too, wherever he is."

"No problem Timmy."

He watched her walk away, then went into Tootie's room. "So, how's the newest member of the family doing?"

The room was unusually quiet. All eyes were locked on the infant cradled in Tootie's arms.

"Hey? What's up?" Timmy moved closer and looked at the baby girl. "Whoa."

"She- she looks like me..." Vicky spoke, her voice barely above a whisper.

"That's weird." and it was, despite having a mother with black hair and violet eyes, and an African-American father with blue eyes, the baby Tootie held had striking pink eyes and a tuft of red hair. "She got a name?"

"We were thinking... Samantha..."

"Yeah? Hm... I like it. Just... feels right, y'know?"

"That's what we thought."

"No." AJ interrupted. "That was Tootie's idea, I wanted to call her-"

"We're not calling her Lucrecia. You got that from a video game."

"Samantha's from a video game..." AJ mumbled.

"It was our great grandmother's name, I don't care what video game it was in. Do you like that name? Samantha?" Tootie looked down at the infant in her arms.

And Samantha smiled up at her mother.


	5. Chapter 5

"Why are we here again?" Tootie stood in Vicky's office at the Dimmsdale Daycare Center with her arms crossed, her daughter running circles around her.

"Because I _do_ occasionally need to check in to make sure Jenna is holding down the fort. She isn't qualified to handle the day to day activities like myself or Timmy."

"Then why have someone who is unqualified handling such things? Also, aren't there rules about dating your employees? Fraternization or something?"

"First of all, Jenna needs the experience. Second, in most places, yes, there are rules that forbid fraternization. But _I_ make the rules since _I _own the place, so _I'm_ free to date whoever _I_ please."

"But doesn't that mean you're favoring Timmy over your other employees?"

"It absolutely does. I _do_ favor him over my other employees." she looked at Timmy, who was currently sitting in her office chair and typing on her computer. "But, as you can plainly see, he deserves to be favored because he works twice as hard as everyone else here and doesn't complain half as much."

"Are you at least paying him well for doing your job?" Tootie watched as Sammy ran over to Timmy and climbed onto his lap.

"As my boyfriend he does get paid well for the job he does, just not always with money."

Tootie shook her head back and forth. "Too much information..."

"You asked."

"Whatcha doing?" Sammy looked closely at the computer screen, which made no sense to her anyway.

"Taxes, reports, bills... you name it."

"Hm..." the little girl squinted in concentration before shaking her head. "I don't get it..."

"Lucky for you, you don't need a job, so you don't have to get it."

"You mean when I grow up I have to gets a job?" Sammy looked up at Timmy fearfully.

"I'm afraid so."

"I don't ever wanna grow up!"

"Hah! Nobody does!"

"Are you almost finished?"

"Vicky... he's only been at it for five-"

"Done." Timmy picked Sammy up and put her on his shoulders, then got up from the chair. "We can go now."

"Yay!" Sammy shouted from Timmy's shoulders and re-adjusted her hat.

"Hey... Sammy, where'd you get that hat?" Tootie noticed the familiar pink hat her daughter wore. It was something she had never noticed before, though Sammy _had_ been wearing it for over a year now...

"I gave it to her. Or she took it from me and I told her she could have it, if you want to be more accurate."

"Sammy... you shouldn't just-"

"Tootie, I told her, she knows..."

"I shouldn't take things that don't belong to me, it's better to ask for things than to takes them." she took on a semi-mocking tone as she recited the lesson Timmy had told her.

"See?"

"Thank goodness, I was beginning to fear that the two of you would corrupt my daughter like Vicky corrupted you..." Tootie gestured at the brunet.

"Hey! I take offense to that! I have not corrupted Timmy in any way. Unless you count the whole 'stealing is okay if it's for the greater good' thing."

"Vicky. Stealing for yourself is not the greater good."

"Oh well now you're just splitting hairs..."

"Right... Can we go now?"

"Sure, you and Timmy head to the car, I just need to check in with Jenna real quick, meet you outside."

All four left the office, but while Vicky headed to the reception desk, Timmy, Tootie, and Sammy headed for the exit.

"So, where's her dad? AJ hasn't called me or Chester in a while now."

"AJ-"

"Daddy is going to school at mitt to get a good job, he's really far away, but he'll be back for the holidays, that's what mommy said."

"Mitt?"

"MIT, he said that would be the best place for him to go so he could support us. I know he means well, but for all that genius, he doesn't know a thing about being a father..."

"Eh, what do you expect? Robots aren't usually good at parenting..."

"I know, but at this rate, he won't get to see Sammy grow up, he's on the other side of the country!"

They both stopped as Tootie took a few deep breaths. "This is really bothering you."

"Was it that obvious?"

"Just a bit." the corners of his mouth twitched slightly as a grin began to form. "Can you really blame him? He wants to do his best to make sure the two of you are taken care of..."

"Sammy doesn't need money, she needs her father and if things keep going like this, she's gonna start thinking you're her father..."

"Hey, I don't think I could replace AJ. Just give him some time, if you want, I'll have a talk with him, set him straight, okay?"

"I don't think it'll help, but be my guest."

"You never know until you try... Oh! That's good! Remember that Sammy."

"Yeah! I'll remember!"

"Keep that up and she'll start thinking that you're the one that came up with all those famous quotes..."

"If I ever get a time machine that's exactly what I'm gonna do. All the famous quotes will be mine and people will have to pay me whenever they use them."

"Won't they question the fact that you have been making famous quotes since the pyramids were built?"

"Details, details."

The two were now at the car, Tootie had already gotten in the driver's seat, while Timmy was in the back strapping Sammy into her car seat. Tootie was watching Timmy so much that she didn't notice Vicky get into the car and sit down until she looked over to see her and nearly jumped out of her seat. "Goddamn ninja..."

"Need to be stealthy in my line of work."

"Running a daycare?! When exactly do you need to be stealthy?"

"I... hm. I know there was a good reason that I had... but I can't seem to remember it at the moment... Oh well."

"Auntie is steal- stealth- a ninja!"

Timmy smiled at Sammy. "Yeah she is."

"Don't worry, I'll be sure to teach my favorite niece all about how to be like me."

Tootie looked at her sister worriedly. "Please. Don't. She's already starting to act like you at school. Except she doesn't take things from people, she just manipulates them into giving her what she wants."

"Oh? Nice job Sammy!" Vicky reached back and high-fived the little girl.

"Don't encourage her..."

"Jeez Tootie, never knew you were such a stick in the mud..." Timmy teased from his spot next to Sammy.

"Mommy's a stick in the mud!"

"You two are pure evil, and you _are_ corrupting my daughter after all..."

Tootie drove them to the mall, amid more teasing about how she was a stick in the mud. She fired back a few times, but being mean just wasn't in her nature, even if the teasing was good-natured at heart.

"Why are we going to the mall?" Vicky queried as Tootie pulled into a parking space.

"Sammy's too big for her current bed, she needs to upgrade to a bigger one."

"Ah, I see." Timmy began unbuckling her from her seat, then got out and picked her back up, placing her on his shoulders.

"She has a stroller..."

"She also has legs. You really think she needs to be in a stroller at her age?"

"You really think she needs to be _carried_ at her age?"

Timmy looked up at Sammy. "See? I told you your mom's a stick in the mud..."

"Ugh... it's like I'm taking care of three children, not one!"

"Lighten up sis! Timmy? You take Sammy to the play area, me and Tootie will go and grab Sammy's bed. Sound good?"

"Sure." Timmy agreed.

"Yeah!" Sammy excitedly agreed.

"But..." Tootie seemed unsure.

"Relax Toots! Timmy is a mostly responsible adult, I'm sure he'll take good care of Sammy!" Vicky began dragging Tootie away.

"But I-"

"No buts! Come on now..."

Timmy and Sammy watched the two sisters disappear into the mall.

"Does... does Auntie have a surprise for Mommy?"

"Very perceptive of you. Yeah, she's taking your Mommy to a spa so she can relax."

"Oh... Auntie Vicky is so nice!"

"_Just lucky you're related to her and didn't grow up with her as your babysitter." _"Yep! She sure is! C'mon, let's see if we can find one of those play areas for you."

The two wandered into the mall past various stores, currently having no luck finding a play area.

"So Sammy, how's kindergarten?"

"It's fun! The teachers there are really nice and so is the other kids! Except... well..."

"Yeah?"

"There's a girl there that's really mean! Her name is Franc- Franci- hmm... Fran-seen!"

"_Fran-seen? Francine? Is that what she meant?" _"Sammy... this girl... she's not... gray, is she?"

"Gray? What do you mean?"

"Um... you see how my skin is peach-colored like yours?"

"Yeah..."

"Is Francis'- Er... is Francine's... gray? Like the crayon in your crayon box?"

"Um... no. Her skin is like mine... Well... a bit lighter I guess... but not gray!"

"_That's a relief..." _Timmy was worried that Sammy would have the same problem that he did growing up, having to deal with her own personal bully like he did with Francis, but it seemed that this 'Francine' girl just shared a similar name with the gray child... Or more appropriately, gray teenager. "Hm... does she bully you?"

"Not... not too much..." Sammy spoke evasively.

"Sammy..."

"She's taken my lunch a few times... and pushed me to the ground... but I'm okay! Mommy says I shouldn't fight people like that! That I'll just get in trouble for it..."

"Your Mommy's half right... But if someone is bullying you, you have to stand up to them. If you let them have control, they win. If they win, they'll think they can bully you all the time, understand?"

"I- um... not really... If I fight her, won't I get in trouble?"

Timmy took Sammy off his shoulders and sat her down on a bench, then took a seat next to her. "Probably, but sometimes, you have to get in trouble to get your point across. I was bullied when I was younger and never stood up to him, he bullied me relentlessly for years... Until your Auntie helped me out. I haven't seen him since."

"Vicky helped you?"

"She did. In more ways than one..."

_Time... for a flashback!_

_Timmy was in his front yard, digging a hole in the yard as per Vicky's instruction. He was twelve and wasn't entirely sure what the purpose of this hole was, as Vicky almost always forced him to re-fill the hole after he finished digging it, but arguing with her usually carried the unpleasant consequence of being yelled at... or more difficult chores._

_The bright side to all this was that he could get away from Vicky by being outside, and the work wasn't all _that_ hard..._

"_If only I could wish the hole to be dug and then re-filled, but that might arouse suspicion..."_

"_Hey Turner." a shadow blocked out the sun and kicked dirt onto Timmy's head._

_A combination of the sun's glare and Timmy's position in the hole made it difficult to tell who was kicking dirt onto him, but the voice revealed the person's identity fairly quickly._

"_Francis... do I _have_ to get a restraining order against you too? This is my front yard..."_

"_Well Turner, it appears you have a three o' clock appointment with my fist and you're about two hours late."_

"_Very sorry for not showing up blah blah blah, I'll try not to miss the next one." Timmy returned to his task._

_Francis glared at Timmy as his mind tried to think up an adequate retort, but instead opted for kicking more dirt onto Timmy's head._

"_Francis, seriously, I have enough problems on my plate. Go away." it wasn't that Timmy no longer feared Francis, it was just that he was too tired to deal with him right now._

_Francis responded to this in much the same way he responded to everything: Brute Force. He pushed the pile of dirt into the hole that Timmy was currently standing in, burying him up to his neck._

"_How about now Turner? Do I have your attention now?"_

"_Ugh... I have to re-dig this now!" Timmy spat some dirt out of his mouth._

"_Let me rephrase that." Francis stepped forward and placed his foot on Timmy's head, forcing him deeper into the ground so the dirt was above his mouth. "Do I have your attention no-" Francis was interrupted by a green and black blur delivering a haymaker to his face, knocking him away from Timmy and sprawling into the grass._

_Vicky towered over the gray child with a look of absolute indifference. "That." Vicky pointed to Timmy's still mostly buried form. "Is my property. You will not touch my property ever, _ever_ again, or I will make your bloodied face seem like a kindness. Got it?"_

_Francis nodded dumbly and crawled away from Vicky, then stood up and ran away as fast as his legs would allow._

_Vicky turned her attention to Timmy and walked over to him, then knelt down and jabbed her hand into the dirt next to his head._

_Timmy felt Vicky's thin fingers wrap around his left arm and pull him out of his shallow grave, then watched with bewilderment as she dusted him off and grabbed his hand, leading him into the house._

_Timmy followed without protest, knowing what would happen if he did, yet fearing what would happen if she continued to lead him towards an unknown fate. She eventually lead him into the kitchen and sat him down in one of the kitchen chairs, then turned it to face her and the sink._

_Timmy watched with curiosity that bordered on fascination as Vicky took out a wash cloth and ran it under warm water, then turned back to him and brought it to his face._

_Timmy instinctively winced and shied away from her touch, though Vicky had never laid a hand on him in the four years that she had known him._

_Vicky stopped short and looked down, mumbling a curse under her breath, before moving closer again and wiping the dirt off of Timmy's face with the wash cloth. "...You alright?"_

_He could sense the concern in her voice, out of place as it may have seemed. "Yeah, I'm fine... Thanks..."_

_Vicky didn't respond and continued wiping at his face. "I should've been watching you..." Now there was obvious sorrow in her voice._

_Sorrow and concern? Those two didn't fit into the description he usually gave Vicky. "It- it's alright..." Was he seriously trying to comfort her? Comfort _Vicky_? Of all people?_

_Vicky sighed and tossed the washcloth into the sink. "This isn't working, your clothes are covered in dirt, your hair is full of it... Go take a shower."_

_Timmy did as he was told and went upstairs to shower. When he returned, he attempted to go back to digging the hole, but was stopped by her voice._

"_Nevermind that." Vicky was laying on the couch and moved her legs back so they pressed into the cushions. "Watch some TV." she beckoned him over and handed him the remote, then faced the couch cushions._

_Timmy cautiously sat down and looked at Vicky. _"She... protected me?Why?" _Timmy thought to himself. _"Maybe... maybe she's not as bad as-"

_Vicky turned back over and lifted her legs up and over Timmy's head and onto his lap. "Much better."_

_Timmy sighed. _"Baby steps..."

_End of Flashback time..._

That act of kindness by Vicky had been the beginning of their odd friendship that eventually turned into the relationship that he had with the red-head today; to this day, he still didn't know what exactly brought it on, though it _was_ the first time Vicky had actually _seen_ Francis bullying him.

"But... you don't have someone like Vicky to watch out for you all the time, right?"

"No..." Sammy looked down sadly.

"Which leaves the question: What are you going to do about it?"

"Huh?"

"You can keep getting bullied... or you can stand up for yourself and others." Timmy stood up and picked Sammy up, returning her to his shoulders.

"Stand... up?"

"Yeah, be the hero that your kindergarten needs you to be!"

"But... but Francine is scary!"

"Maybe so, but I told you about Auntie Vicky, she scared away Francis no problem, and you're her niece! You don't have to get pushed around if you don't want to."

"Hm... Oh! There's the play area! That way Timmy!" Sammy began bouncing up and down on his shoulders.

"_She even _sounds_ like a younger, smaller Vicky..." _"Okay! I'm going!" Timmy smiled up at the little girl.

Upon reaching the play area, Timmy set Sammy down and looked around at the other kids. "Okay, I'm gonna grab us something to eat, will you be okay by yourself for a few minutes?"

"Yeah, I'm a big girl!" Sammy spoke confidently.

"Alright, if you need me, I'll be right over there." Timmy pointed to a small coffee shop a few feet away.

"'Kay!" Sammy ran off to meet the other kids, some of which she seemed to know.

After watching her for a few minutes to make sure she was okay, Timmy walked over to 'The Coffee Shop' as the sign indicated.

_Sammy's POV..._

"Hi guys!" Sammy waved to a girl with blonde hair tied in pigtails, a white sweater that was a few sizes too big, pink shorts, white sneakers, and glasses who held an expensive looking phone. And a boy with brown, unkempt hair, a faded green jacket over a black t-shirt, blue jeans, and old, slightly worn black sneakers.

"Hi Sammy..." the blonde haired girl replied sheepishly while keeping her eyes glued to her phone.

"Jeez Rachel, how interesting could your phone be?" the brunet haired boy snapped at Rachel, slightly more forcefully than he intended.

"Well _Atty_, I'm trying to figure out what the odds are of Francine showing up and ruining our day! Aren't you worried?!"

"Stuff like that doesn't get to me... So who was that guy?" Atty turned his attention to Sammy. "He your dad or something?"

"No, that's Timmy, he's my mom's friend and my Auntie's boyfriend. He's really nice!"

"Oh? Where's your dad?" Rachel asked, finally taking her eyes off her phone and it's calculations.

"I told you Rache! He's at mitt getting his um... Mas-ters? So he can gets a good job!"

"Oh right, sorry. I guess I forgot..." Rachel rubbed the back of her head, slightly embarrassed.

"That's okay!"

"I like your hat, Sammy! Where'd you get it?"

"From Timmy, he said I could have it." Sammy fingered the rim of the hat's visor.

"Sounds like a nice gu-" Rachel was interrupted as she was pushed to the floor from behind, causing her phone to be left spinning in the air before being snatched out of it by a pale-skinned hand.

"Thanks, Short Stop." Sammy helped up Rachel and turned her attention to the figure who currently held Rachel's phone. The girl before them was slightly taller than them and wore a black shirt, gray jeans, a spiky bracelet on her left wrist, a small silver chain around her neck and had short, recently cut black hair. She commonly went by the name: Francine. "This the newest model? Not too bad..."

"Hey! Give that back!" Atty stepped forward and got right in Francine's face, doing his best to stand up for the honor of his two lady friends.

Francine quickly responded by shoving him backward into a pile of blocks, causing him to fall onto his back and cry out in pain.

"Atty!" Sammy cried out for her fallen friend. "Are you okay?!"

"No..." Atty replied, his voice indicating he was on the edge of tears.

"Gr... Why are you always so mean to us?!" Sammy yelled at Francine.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because it's not right! Don't you know it's better to ask for things than to take them?"

"I don't care, if that's what you're asking. And why would I ask? You three wimps wouldn't give me this if I asked for it."

"We would've shared!"

"I don't want to share! In fact, maybe I'll smash it just so you three can't have it!" Francine reared her arm back and brought it down to throw the phone onto the ground... Only to be stopped by a strong hand grabbing her wrist.

Sammy looked up to see Timmy holding the bully's wrist. "Timmy!"

_Timmy's POV_

"That doesn't belong to you, does it, Miss?" Timmy slid his hand up to Francine's, then worked the phone out of her fingers and took it away. "In fact, with all this white and pink on it, I'd say it belongs to that little girl you pushed to the ground..."

"No fair! You're bigger than me!"

"So I am. What's your name?"

"Francine! I run this play area... and recess... and wherever else I want!"

"Hm... well, not this one. I'm Sammy's bodyguard, you mess with her, or her friends, you deal with me, understand?"

"Pfft... bodyguard? I've got one too! Big brother! This guy's being mean to me!"

Timmy heard a sound that was akin to a rhinoceros charging at him, then looked to his right to see that the notion wasn't far off. He stepped back at the last second, dodging the rhino-slash-human and letting it crash into a trash can.

"Big brother! You missed! Why are you so clumsy?!"

The grayish mass that was this little girl's brother stood up and rubbed his head, then looked over at his apparent sister. "Sorry Frankie, I thought I'd get the jump on him."

"Don't call me Frankie! Just... get back my phone!"

Timmy returned his attention to Francine. "Whoa, first of all-" Timmy dodged another charge by the rhino. "This is that little girl's phone." Timmy pointed at the still sitting on the floor Rachel. "Second-" Timmy again sidestepped the mass of gray flesh. "I wasn't being mean to you, I was just getting back the phone that you stole!"

"Calling my little sister a thief?! I. Will. Destroy. You!" the mass of rhino flesh ran at Timmy again, missing once more as Timmy took a step back.

Sammy, Rachel and Atty watched in amazement as Timmy took on two bullies effortlessly.

"He's so cool!"

"How can he dodge them so fluidly without breaking a sweat?"

"Yeah! Go Timmy!"

"And third, are you Francis?" Timmy squinted at the rhino-man that was picking himself up from the mess of food that was spilled from the garbage can.

"Yeah, I am. How do you-" Francis squinted at Timmy for several seconds while rubbing his chin. "Turner?! What are you doing here?!"

"Keeping an eye on my future niece-in-law. Your sister was bullying her." Timmy defiantly stood his ground.

"Then that means I raised her right."

"Big brother! Stop making small talk and get my phone back!"

"Well, I can certainly say she's smarter than you."

The comment by Timmy caused Francine to blush.

"But that doesn't excuse her behavior, or yours." Timmy walked past Francine and over to Rachel. "Are you okay?"

The girl looked up at Timmy and practically swooned. "Yeah, I'm f-fine."

"Here. I think this belongs to you..." Timmy handed Rachel her phone.

"T-thanks..."

The little girl reminded him of someone... yet he couldn't quite place who it was... "Hey... you wouldn't happen to know a Veronica, would you?"

"Um... yeah, she's- she's my big sister."

Now things were starting to make sense. This little girl definitely looked a lot like Veronica. She even dressed similarly to her, wearing what was likely a hand-me-down white sweater. "Hm. Tell her I said 'Hi'."

"I um- I will..." Rachel turned her attention back to her phone, trying to hide her growing blush.

"Uh... Hey."

Timmy turned around to see the brunet who was knocked into the pile of blocks earlier. "Took a nasty spill back there, you alright too?"

"Hah! It'll take more than that to keep me down!" Atty puffed out his chest and posed heroically with his hands balled into fists at his hips.

"What's your name? I'm sure Sammy has already told you mine."

"Yeah! You're the cool guy, Timmy! My name is Atty!"

"_Atty... Atty... I know that name from somewhere..."_ "Wait! Are you Chester's little brother? Attacus?"

Atty blushed bright red and rubbed the back of his head. "Er... yeah... everyone just calls me Atty though... My dad says he won a bet with my mom, so he got to pick my name..."

"Ah, I see." Timmy turned his attention to Sammy. "And you? You alright?"

"I'm okay Timmy, now that you're here!" Sammy shot him a heartwarming smile.

"That's good." he returned the smile. The more time he spent around this little girl, the more he began to feel like her older brother, or even... father, maybe? But... he wasn't. AJ was. "You three stay here, I'll try and defuse the situation."

"'Kay!" Sammy replied jubilantly.

"Be careful!" followed by Rachel with a hint of worry.

"Good luck!" and Atty, who sounded excited at the prospect of seeing a fight.

Timmy stood up and walked over to where Francis and his sister now stood. "So, I'd prefer if we-" Timmy ducked as Francis threw a punch at him. "Hey! I'm trying to be civil here!"

"Hear that sis? He wants to be civil! I don't know what that means, but I think he's insulting us!" Francis cracked his knuckles and looked at Timmy angrily.

Francine pinched the bridge of her nose. "It means he doesn't want to fight, Francis..."

"Oh? Well too bad for you, Turner. I _do_ want to fight!" Francis charged again. And missed Timmy, again. "Gr... you can't dodge me forever Turner! And that witch isn't here to protect you this time!"

"Did you just call my girlfriend a witch?" Timmy stopped and stared at Francis.

"No, I called your babysitter a witch!" Francis threw another punch, which Timmy stopped, though he had to use both hands.

"That's not very nice..."

"Yeah! You got him big brother!"

Timmy was distracted long enough by Francine's cheering to not notice Francis' other fist coming up and colliding with his face, sending his head reeling back, though he did not lose his balance and continued holding Francis' other hand.

Timmy winced in pain and opened his eyes to see Vicky watching the two of them. She had her hands over her mouth and appeared to be worried about Timmy's well-being, judging by the look on her face. The look quickly faded and was replaced by one that at one point would've brought a fearful shiver to Timmy's spine, but no longer had that affect. Timmy turned his attention back to Francis. "You shouldn't have done that... In fact, if I were you, I'd take my sister and get the Hell out of here..."

"Nice try sounding tough Turner, but I'm not scared of you!" Francis threw another punch, but this one failed to connect as a pale-skinned hand stopped it with what appeared to be no effort at all.

"This sure does feel familiar..." Vicky squeezed Francis' hand tightly.

Timmy thought he heard bones beginning to crack under the pressure. He had no idea how Vicky could be so strong, yet look like she had no real muscle mass at all. At the moment, he didn't much care either.

"Ah! L-let me go!" Francis whined.

"Big brother!"

"Now, I remember telling you a while back that I don't want you messing with my property... Yet here I find you, once again messing with not only my property, but my family as well." Vicky's hold tightened even more as Francis' hand began to emit crunching sounds. "What do I have to do to get my point across? Could someone please tell me?" Vicky looked back at Timmy, who shrugged his shoulders, then returned her attention to Francis. "I _really_ want to know..."

"Let- let my big brother go! Please!"

Vicky turned to the little girl that was trying to pull Francis away from Vicky. "And why should I do that? Would you have left my niece and her friends alone if they asked you please?"

"I-" Francine seemed to be at a loss for words.

"That's what I thought." Vicky squeezed even tighter, eliciting a sickening crunch from Francis' hand, and a yelp of pain from Francis himself, then released his hand and shoved him back. "That was strike two, the only reason you're getting mercy is because your sister and my niece and her friends are all here. If strike three rolls around; and I really hope it does... well, I won't spoil it for you. Now get outta here, and _please_, give me a reason!"

Francis stood up and grabbed his sister, then once again ran away as fast as his legs would allow him to.

Timmy stared at Francis' retreating form for several seconds before speaking. "I could've taken him, good thing you showed up. I was about to give him a piece of my mind..."

Vicky smiled and rolled her eyes. "Right, that's exactly what I was thinking." she turned to look at his already bruising eye. "I guess some things never change..." she brought her hand closer and caressed his cheek, causing him to hiss in pain.

Vicky attempted to pull her hand away, but Timmy in turn pulled her hand back. "Your hand's nice and cool..."

Vicky giggled. "I'll get you some ice when we get back to my place. Sammy okay?"

"I'm fine!" Sammy ran over and hugged Timmy's legs, an action mimicked by her two friends. "Timmy saved us!"

"Timmy? What about me?" Vicky asked with mock-hurt.

"Well... you saved me." Timmy pulled Vicky into a hug. "I'd say that counts for something."

"Oh yeah? I thought you said you could take him?"

"Well..." Timmy rubbed the back of his head. "I may have bluffed... a bit."

"At any rate, we got Sammy her new bed, so we should get going. C'mon Sammy, say goodbye to your friends!"

"Bye Rachel! Bye Atty!"

"Bye Sammy! See you in school!" the two children exclaimed.

"So." Vicky began as the three made their way to the mall entrance. "What was that all about?"

"Francine was trying to take my friend Rachel's phone! So I told her that it was wrong to take things that don't belong to her and she was gonna break it... but Timmy saved us!"

"The Hell's a Francine?"

Timmy spoke up next. "Apparently Francis has a little sister who takes after him in the bullying department."

"Of course it would be something like that... at least she didn't hurt Sammy..."

"But... Timmy got hurt instead..."

"Don't worry about me, Sammy. I'm fine as long as you and your friends are okay." Timmy said reassuringly.

"But... I has to get stronger... so I can protect my friends..."

"Do I need to ask who it is that's filling your head with ideas of heroism?" Vicky glanced slyly at Timmy.

"Not really." Timmy remarked rather plainly.

"Well let's just hope that they both learned a valuable lesson after that. No one messes with my family..." Vicky intertwined her fingers with Timmy's. "Or my boyfriend."

The three at last made it to the mall entrance and went into the parking lot to find Tootie waiting patiently, though her calm look quickly made way for a more worried one when she saw Timmy's face. "Timmy! Are you okay?!" Tootie ran over and put her hand on Timmy's cheek, trying to get a closer look. "What happened?!"

"Francis." Timmy stated nonchalantly. "And yes, I'm fine."

"Won't he ever just grow up and leave us alone?"

"Evidently not. And, to make things even better, he's raising his sister to be just like him."

"I heard about Francine from Sammy..." Tootie turned to look at her daughter. "You didn't get into a fight with her, did you?"

"No Mommy, I didn't. But she took Rachel's phone and pushed Atty into a bunch of blocks! Timmy said I have to stand up to bullies!"

Tootie sighed and looked tiredly at Timmy. "I'm trying to keep her from getting in trouble at school, Timmy..."

"She needs to learn to stand up to bullies, Tootie. Francis made my life miserable at school when I was younger, do you want Sammy to go through the same thing?"

"No... but... I don't want her to become a bully herself..."

"You don't want her to end up like me." Vicky replied knowingly.

"It's not like that..."

"Tootie, Sammy already knows how to act around people. She's a good kid, smart too. I think you're being just a little paranoid."

"Maybe..."

"Mommy's paranoid!"

"Looks like it's three against one." Vicky piped in.

"Fine. I'm paranoid. If Sammy wants to be a heroine to the other students, who am I to stop her?" Tootie knelt down and hugged Sammy. "Just be careful, okay?"

"Don't worry Mommy, I will!"

"Good." Tootie picked up her daughter and placed her in her car seat. "Come on, let's get going." Tootie got into the driver's seat.

"So, did you get to take Tootie to the spa?"

"Yeah, didn't do much to calm her down though..."

"Oh well, you tried." Timmy rubbed at his eye, it was beginning to feel slightly itchy. "Thanks again... for back there, I mean."

"Looks like your little lesson in standing up for yourself backfired, huh?"

"Like I said, I would've taken him, but his sister distracted me with her cheering, then I felt like it would've been mean to beat him up in front of her."

"Luckily I have no such reservations."

"Indeed."

"Hey! You two coming or not? I _could_ just let you walk back..."

"Better not keep her waiting..."

"Right..."

_Back at Vicky's house..._

"So where's the bed?" Timmy looked in the trunk.

"They're delivering it in a few days."

"Oh." Timmy shut the trunk. "Well then..." Timmy followed Vicky into the house and Tootie followed them, along with Sammy.

"I'm gonna go clear out Sammy's room with her, you guys... well, you know where everything is."

Timmy watched Tootie head upstairs with Sammy, then slumped down on the couch. "What a day..." he suddenly felt something cold on his face and opened his eyes.

Vicky sat next to him, an ice pack in her hand that she currently held pressed to his bruised eye. "You really care about Sammy, huh?"

Timmy took the ice pack from Vicky's hand and pressed it against his face. "Don't you?"

"Of course I do, but you're acting more and more like her father every day."

"Maybe like a big brother, not a father."

"Either way, I'm glad. When we have one of our own, I think we'll both be ready, don't you?"

"I know we will..."

An uncomfortable silence filled the living room.

"Vicky... you're not um... pregnant, are you?"

"No! God no. Just because I think we'll be ready doesn't mean I want it to happen too soon! ...Unless?"

"What? Right now?"

"Well... more like tonight..." Vicky winked at Timmy.


End file.
